Mark Pryor (b. January 10, 1963, in Fayetteville, AR) is a former Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Arkansas. Pryor was first elected to the Senate in 2002.

Pryor lost his re-election bid to the U.S. Senate in 2014. He was defeated by Rep. Tom Cotton in the general election on November 4, 2014. Pryor's U.S. Senate seat was one of the most vulnerable in the country. Both Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball ranked the race as a Toss Up.[1][2] Additionally, FiscalTimes listed it as one of the seven most vulnerable seats in the country and The Washington Post included it on their list of the top 10 races to watch in 2014.[3]

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[6] The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Pryor's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[7]

National security

John Brennan CIA nomination

Pryor voted for the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.[8]

Economy

Farm bill

On February 4, 2014, the Democratic controlled Senate approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill.[9] It passed the Senate with a vote of 68-32. The nearly 1,000-page bill reformed and continued various programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that will kick in if or when prices drop; however, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states.[10] Pryor joined with 46 other Democraticsenators in favor of the bill.

2014 Budget

On January 16, 2014, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved H.R. 3547, a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014.[11][12] The Senate voted 72-26 for the 1,582 page bill, with 17 Republicans and 55 Democrats voting in favor of the bill.[12] The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations.[13] It included a 1 percent increase in the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel, a $1 billion increase in Head Start funding for early childhood education, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and left the Affordable Care Act without any drastic cuts. Pryor voted with the Democratic Party in favor of the bill.[11][12]

Government shutdown

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[14] The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Pryor voted with the Democratic Party for the bill.[15]

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Pryor voted for H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.[16]

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Pryor voted for Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.[17]

Social issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Pryor voted for S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.[18]

Background checks on gun sales

Response to Mayors Against Illegal Guns ad

On April 17, 2013, the U.S. Senate took a vote on and defeated a measure that would have expanded federal background checks for firearms purchases.[19] The vote was 54-46, with supporters falling six votes short of the required 60-vote threshold.[20] Pryor was one of the 4 DemocraticSenators who voted against the amendment.[21]
As a result of the vote, Pryor was targeted by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group funded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The group is running ads in Alaska, Arkansas and North Dakota, three of the states with Democratic senators who voted against the bill on expanded background checks for gun sales.[22]

Pryor released the following video in response to the ads.

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Pryor voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by an 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.[23]

Issues

On The Issues Vote Match

On The Issues conducts a VoteMatch analysis of elected officials based on 20 issue areas. Rather than relying on incumbents to complete the quiz themselves, the VoteMatch analysis is conducted using voting records, statements to the media, debate transcripts or citations from books authored by or about the candidate. Based on the results of the quiz, Pryor is a Centrist. Pryor received a score of 44 percent on social issues and 42 percent on economic issues.[24]

On The Issues organization logo.

The table below contains the results of analysis compiled by staff at On The Issues.

National security

ISIS insurgency in Iraq

Pryor responded to U.S. airstrikes against ISIS militants in Iraq with the following statement, "I am concerned that this could escalate and lead to heavier military involvement for the U.S. I think that if it's going to go that direction the president should confer with congress. We need to have clearly defined goals." Pryor also said that he thought the humanitarian aid to the region made sense.[26]

Social issues

Religion

Pryor released an ad in December 2013 about his religious beliefs. He said, "I’m not ashamed to say that I believe in God, and I believe in His Word. The Bible teaches us no one has all the answers: only God does. And neither political party is always right." The ad came weeks after the tumultuous rollout of Obamacare, and according to Politico, "Pryor has gone further than other vulnerable Democratic senators to try and distance himself from President Barack Obama."[27]

Gay marriage

Pryor does not support same-sex marriage. Pryor was one of four DemocraticSenators who had not voiced support for same-sex marriage, as of April 2013. Pryor most recently stated that he was in the "undecided category."[28]

Minimum wage

Pryor broke with President Obama on the issue of a minimum wage increase to $10 an hour. He said in an interview, "I know $10.10 still isn’t a whole lot of money, but I think it’s too much, too fast. I’m not supportive of that." Arkansas is home to the headquarters of Wal-Mart, a corporation that Pryor risks alienating by agreeing with a minimum wage increase.[29]

Campaign donors

Fundraising events

Comprehensive donor history

Comprehensive donor information for Pryor is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Pryor raised a total of $10,400,028 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[33]

PGI: Change in net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Pryor's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $1,001 and $16,000. That averages to $8,500, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2012 of $13,566,333.90. Pryor ranked as the 99th most wealthy senator in 2012.[46] Between 2004 and 2012, Pryor's calculated net worth[47] decreased by an average of 12 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[48]

Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[50]

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org, Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Pryor received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Lawyers/Law Firms industry.

From 2001-2014, 29.31 percent of Pryor's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below.[51]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Pryor missed 54 of 3,678 roll call votes from January 2003 to July 2014. This amounts to 1.5 percent, which was better than the median of 2 percent among current senators as of July 2014.[54]

Congressional staff salaries

2011

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Pryor paid his congressional staff a total of $2,530,611 in 2011. He ranked 15th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranked 44th overall of the lowest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Arkansas ranked 36th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[55]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

2013

Pryor ranked 47th in the conservative rankings among U.S. senators in 2013. Despite being a Democrat, Pryor ranked higher in the conservative rankings than the liberal rankings in 2013.[56]

2012

Pryor ranked 51st in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators in 2012.[57]

2011

Pryor ranked 52nd in the liberal rankings among U.S. senators in 2011.[58]

Voting with party

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.

2014

Pryor voted with the Democratic Party 78.3 percent of the time, which ranked 50th among the 53 Senate Democratic members as of July 2014.[59]

2013

Pryor voted with the Democratic Party 75.4 percent of the time, which ranked 50th among the 52 Senate Democratic members as of June 2013.[60]

Personal

Pryor has two children. He and his former wife divorced in 2012 after twenty years of marriage.[61]

Recent news

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↑The questions in the quiz are broken down into two sections -- social and economic. In social questions, liberals and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while conservatives and populists agree in choosing the more-restrictive answers. For the economic questions, conservatives and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while liberals and populists agree in choosing the more-restrictive answers.